The fight against fat has come to a standstill. In spite of all diets, there have never been as many overweight Swedes as now; almost every other Swede today is either overweight or fat.
“Many say that obesity is going down, and perhaps it’s true that we don’t get a lot of new fat people, but 40-50% of all Swedes are overweight or fat today, and that’s more than ever,” said Professor Stephan Rössner at the medical congress, UEGW - 19th United European Gastroenterology Week - recently held in Stockholm. He continued to say that obesity is a problem that won’t be solved in the near future. A lot of research is set aside for it, yet no miracle medicine or magic diet has been found.

“We’re at a standstill,” Rössner says. “People don’t want to hear this, but a sound diet and physical activity is still what’s needed.” As a console, it’s good to know that for those who want to lose weight, a little means a lot. “A weight loss of about 5% doesn’t sound like much, but it has been proven that it is enough to improve blood sugar, blood lipids and blood pressure. You feel better and move with more ease.” Most people try to lose too much too fast. “Many start out too hard, and then they get tired,” says Rössner.

Studies show that around 1.6 billion people around the world suffer from obesity or overweight. In the U.S. and most of the European countries the number is as high as 50% or even higher. Obesity is measured by BMI, Body Mass Index, which takes into account the relation between height and weight in a person. Being overweight means a BMI of between 25 and 30, while obesity means a BMI of over 30.